All patents, patent applications, and publications cited within this application are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual patent, patent application or publication was specifically and individually incorporated by reference.
Electro-optic polymer modulators and devices are useful for a variety of applications in optical communications. The velocity of light and the velocity of micro and millimeter waves are closely matched in polymers, which enables devices having broad bandwidth. Electro-optic polymers have high electro-optic activity, which may lead to optical modulators and devices that have low drive voltage. Low drive voltage modulators are the critical component in RF photonic applications such as antenna remoting, phased array radar, and avionics. However, realizing the high electro-optic activity of polymers in optical devices is difficult because the passive polymers used as optical waveguide clads shield the electro-optic polymer from the electric field during poling, which decreases the electro-optic activity substantially. Some groups have attempted to use conducting polymers as waveguide clads to allow the electric field to fall on the electro-optic polymer, but conducting polymers are not soluble or processable enough to fabricate practical devices. Other groups have introduced salts into the organic polymer, but inorganic salts are not very soluble in the organic polymer, which again makes processing and device fabrication difficult. A clad polymer that has reduced resistivity and is also processable is needed to realize the fill potential of electro-optic polymer devices.